


You've Done Enough

by realjane



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, tw: broken bone
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:49:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25233421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/realjane/pseuds/realjane
Summary: Greg finds her at the bottom of the stairs, and the only thing he can think to do is fetch Skele-Gro.--written for Round 2 of the Half Blood Prince Drabble Challenge in Draco's Den--
Relationships: Millicent Bulstrode/Gregory Goyle
Kudos: 10
Collections: Half-Blood Prince Drabble Elimination Challenge





	You've Done Enough

Greg was in trouble. It was well-past midnight. Crabbe probably waited for him until prefect rounds. Malfoy would punish him for missing a meal. Everyone would know he was late. 

He had found Millicent at the base of the steps to the dungeons, just before dinner. Her femur threatened to break through bruised skin. Greg didn't know what to do except steal Skele-Gro from the Potions supply closet. He could only imagine what good (or harm) the potion would do after he got her to drink it.

 _What had happened to Millicent?_

Nobody hated her enough to attack her. Nobody liked her enough to make sure she went to Hogsmeade. Millicent didn't have friends, or enemies. She was a target of torment for Pansy and her coterie of lesser witches, and nothing more.

Pain washed over Millicent's face.

"Please." She pressed her forehead against his knee as another wave wracked through her. Her hand flailed for purchase. Greg let her find his arm. Getting her to Madam Pomfrey would be best, but how?

"Millie," he whispered. She clutched his wrist. "I know you can't walk, but I... I'm rubbish at healing. Tell me what to do."

"Stop crying, for one thing." She eyed him through a pained squint. "Someone should fix that step..." 

The slate on the second stair had been coming loose for a while, but Filch never got around to fixing it. Most students skipped it... she must have been distracted. 

He grimaced. "What happened?"

"Oh... nothing--"

"Did you trip?"

"No! I... ugh." She stared at him, upside-down from this angle, and her eyes were red. Millie swiped a hand under her nose and sniffed. "The usual--disappear so nobody sees me sniveling like a baby."

Ah, yes. He nodded. The joy of being at the whim of Slytherin's favorite son afforded him weekly cycles of the same game. He squeezed her hand.

"That's a losing game."

"Clearly. Can you pull me up or something? My thigh... shit." Her grasp turned to nail pin-pricks. He curled his arms under hers and lifted her; her head fell against his shoulder. "Don't think this is anything flirty, Goyle."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

She prodded her thigh and the skin reacted like gelatin. She cringed. "Skele-Gro, huh?"

The empty vial lay on the floor beside them. He pocketed it. "Best I could do. Let's get you to the hospital wing." Greg slid an arm around her waist and pushed off the wall. Millicent groaned; her head lolled. 

"No! To the dorms. Pansy will bug my bed while I'm gone, if she hasn't yet."

"We can't walk in like this--"

"I know!" she spat. "Just... get me to the door."

"...alright."

He shuffled sideways, pulling her backwards, which allowed Millicent to prop her bad leg on the strong one, ankle over ankle. He sat her at the entrance to Slytherin Dungeon and righted his robes, which were rumpled with exertion. 

"Now what?"

She brushed her hair off her face. "No idea."

Greg tapped his chin. Something occurred to him, but... it wouldn't work. Would it? "Um... what if we... in case anyone's up, I mean..."

"Spit it out."

"If anyone asks... we've..." he shrugged. "Been... snogging, or something. That's why I'm carrying you, and why we're out past curfew." Greg toed the ground. "It's stupid--"

"No... no. That's a decent plan."

"Might do good for both of us."

"How so?"

"I can't get birds to come within five meters of me. The fellas think I'm pathetic."

"Being seen with me won't do you any good."

He raised an eyebrow. " _You're_ a bird. If we're not seen? No harm done."

Millicent held out her hands to him. That was enough for her. He braced her against his hip to take her weight. With her so close to his face, he was forced to examine her. She sighed under his gaze. 

"Go on. Tell me I'm ugly as a grindylow." Greg blinked.

"Your... eyes are hazel."

Millicent frowned. She took his jaw in a vice grip and kissed him. Brief, bruising, and forceful... his nether anatomy did not care about gentleness. Millicent's eyes flicked downwards and then back up.

"Well... my bone's not the only thing growing."

Greg coughed. "It is not!"

"It's cute."

“Shut up.” He didn't make eye contact with her, but he did pull his robe closed. Greg mumbled the password. The stones folded inwards and the door swung open. Millicent wrapped her arms around his neck. 

"Why'd you fetch Skele-Gro, and not..."

"Help?" He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. She shrugged. "Probably get detention just for being out late, since it's me."

"...so you figured... shit, better give unconscious Bulstrode a potion which will mean hours of excruciating pain."

"Well... uh. I mean--"

Millicent stilled his mouth with her hand. She shook her head. "It's smart. It's what I would've done."

They exchanged a smile and she withdrew her fingers. He readjusted his hold around her, trying to ignore the curve of her bum against his forearm, and hobbled down the hallway. The common room was empty. Greg couldn't decide if he was relieved. He paused at the stairs for the girl's dorm.

"I can't take you any further."

"You've done enough." Millicent grabbed the railing and jumped the first stair. She winced. He touched her elbow in reassurance. She looked at him over her shoulder. "You're alright... without the evil twin."

Greg laughed and gestured to her leg. "I hope you sleep. With the... bone growing and all." He put his hands in his pockets. "For what it's worth... you don't look like a grindylow."

She kissed his cheek. "Too bad nobody saw," she murmured. He watched her hop up until she was out of sight. 

Greg ran a hand through his hair and exhaled, leaning against the wall.

 _Well_.

A snicker echoed off the stones. Greg turned--behind him, perched on the arm of the couch, sat Draco Malfoy. 

"So. Bulstrode, huh?"


End file.
